Bonawentura Niemojowski (bɔnavɛnˈtura ɲɛmɔˈjɔfskʲi; September 4, 1787 - June 15, 1835) was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 lawyer, writer and politician. He was one of the leaders of Polish National Government

Polish National Government (November Uprising)

Polish National Government of 1831 was a Polish supreme authority during November Uprising against Russian occupation of Poland. It was created by the decree of the Sejm of the Congress Poland on 29 January 1831 to assume the competences of the Polish head of state in the aftermath of another...

 during the November Uprising

November Uprising

The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...

.

Biography

Bonawentura Niemojowski was born in Słupia near Kępno

Kepno

Kępno is a town in Poland. It lies on the outskirts of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, as it borders on Silesia and the Łódz Land, at the crossing point of two transport routes: north to south and east to west . As of December 31, 2009 Kępno had a population of 14,760...

 to a noble (szlachta

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

) family (Wierusz Coat of Arms). He first studied in the Piarist college in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

, and later abroad in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. After returning to Poland, he became elected from the Kalisz Voivodeship to the Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

 (parliament) of Congress Poland

Congress Poland

The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...

. He was a member of the liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 Kalisz Opposition (Kaliszanie) in the parliament since 1820; the group was named after the voivodeship

Voivodeship

Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....

 which he and his brother, Wincenty Niemojowski

Wincenty Niemojowski

Wincenty Niemojowski was a Polish political activist in Congress Poland. Member of the Kalisz Opposition, later joined the revolutionary government during the November Uprising.-References:...

, both notable members of the group, were from.

In 1821 married Bonawentura Wiktoria Lubowidzka, with whom he had two children.

In the Sejm, Bonawentura soon became a major nuisance to the Russian officials. One of the demands of the Kalisz faction in 1820, regarding independence of the judiciary, led the tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

 (who was also king of Congress Poland, the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 puppet state

Puppet state

A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...

) to suspend the Polish parliament for a period of five years; Niemojowski was dismissed from the parliament before that and subject to house arrest

House arrest

In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...

 for over a year. After the parliament was reestablished, he was a vocal opponent to the movement to make the parliament debates secret, and criticized the tsar's and Russian officials breaking the Constitution of the Congress Poland. In 1830 tsar ordered the Senate of Poland

Senate of Poland

The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...

 to annul Niemojowski's and his brother's mandates on a technicality in order to bar them from attending the parliament sessions.

Although opposed to any means of revolutionary changes, the Kaliszanie eventually supported the November Uprising

November Uprising

The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...

 and joined the ranks of the National Government

Polish National Government

Polish National Government 1863-1864- underground Polish supreme authority during January Uprising against Russian occupation of Poland. It had collegial form, resided in Warsaw and was headed by Karol Majewski...

 in 1830. During the period of struggle against Russia, the Kaliszanie practically dominated the government, controlling the ministries of internal affairs, treasury and war. With the November Uprising of 1830 Bonawentura joined the revolutionary government, taking, among others, posts of minister of justice and later minister of internal affairs. On September 8, 1831 he replaced general Jan Krukowiecki

Jan Krukowiecki

Count Jan Stefan Krukowiecki was a Polish general and chairman of the Polish National Government during the November Uprising and general during Napoleonic Wars fighting in the troops of Napoleon.-Early life and education:...

 as the leader of Polish National Government

Polish National Government (November Uprising)

Polish National Government of 1831 was a Polish supreme authority during November Uprising against Russian occupation of Poland. It was created by the decree of the Sejm of the Congress Poland on 29 January 1831 to assume the competences of the Polish head of state in the aftermath of another...

. Where Krukowiecki wanted to negotiate with the Russians, Niemojowski represented the radical arm of the insurgents, opposed the negotiations and in favor of continuing the uprising. He supported the defense of Warsaw. After the fall of Warsaw he moved to Modlin

Modlin Fortress

Modlin Fortress is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw...

. He resigned his post on September 23, once the majority of the government decided to support capitulation

Capitulation (surrender)

Capitulation , an agreement in time of war for the surrender to a hostile armed force of a particular body of troops, a town or a territory....

, and was succeeded by general Maciej Rybiński

Maciej Rybinski

Maciej Rybiński , Polish general, last chief of State of November Uprising....

. Eventually, with the collapse of the uprising, he escaped to France, joining the Great Emigration

Great Emigration

The Great Emigration was an emigration of political elites from Poland from 1831–1870. Since the end of the 18th century, a major role in Polish political life was played by people who carried out their activities outside the country as émigrés...

; he lived in Paris and Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 and was an activist in the Komitet Tymczasowy Emigracji (Emigration's Temporary Committee).

Works

Niemojowski published several political works:

• Głosy posła kaliskiego na sejmie Królestwa Polskiego 1818
• L’autokrate et la constitution du rayaume de Pologne (Brussels 1833)
• O ostatnich wypadkach rewolucji polskiej (Paris 1833)
• Kilka słów do współrodaków z powodu fałszów przez J.B. Ostrowskiego w piśmie „Nowa Polska” (Paris 1834)